Traces of your Tears
by Shadrala
Summary: As Academy City's Darkness drives its Level 5 student, Misaka Mikoto to the point of no return, a strange phenomenon teleports her to a dangerous and obscure world along with her greatest nemesis. Their Esper powers greatly limited by some unknown force, they must learn to work together if they want to survive. But can this even be done? Or will they end up destroying each other?
1. Chapter 1

**~TRACES OF YOUR TEARS~**

**Author's Note: This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE Toaru fanfic- There is magic, but there is no "Magic side" as such. Themes of Angels and Gods will appear. It begins from where Mikoto is suffering in the Sisters Arc, but the past leading up to it was slightly different as you will hopefully realise during the course of the story.**

**Feedback and reviews greatly welcomed and appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: The canon characters, canon plots/ ideas, anything canon- do not belong to me, but the creators of the original Toaru universe. **

**Warning: Fanfic Rated R- dark/ mature themes, angst, graphic/ detailed violence/ torture/ deaths etc.**

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**CHAPTER 1**

21st August

The black night sky was littered with few stars as grey clouds drifted past in irregular patches. Far below, Academy City glittered from the bright lamps lined up neatly along its streets. It was very much past student curfew, but many people still loitered about. Couples gazing up at the night sky in each other's embrace, friends laughing and sharing a joke, acquaintances having dinner in a restaurant… All appeared peaceful.

Within the Seventh School District stood a certain iron railway bridge, its 150m length spanning over a river. A railway ran across its banks, for vehicles usually carrying cargo loads. No trains passed by at this hour however, and not a single soul could be seen in the area.

Except for a certain teenaged girl.

In the middle of the darkness stood a lone figure, leaning against the side railing of the bridge. She stood looking out over the river, shoulder-length brown hair fluttering gently in the wind. The scenery from this position was rather beautiful, the multicoloured lights of the city reflecting gently on the surface of the water. But the girl's empty eyes were unseeing of this wondrous view, for her mind and heart were filled with a terrible darkness that no amount of light could extinguish.

"Why… Why did it become like this?"

A question was uttered softly to the empty air, but it demanded desperate answers, to none and to all.

"It must exist… A way I can stop any more of them from becoming victims…" The girl continued to mutter brokenly, "But… But if the experiments still don't stop… Then…"

The voice of a certain dedicated teacher from a memory long ago reverberated in her mind.

_'You're the same as me… That you carry a fate that will undoubtedly bring you great despair…"_

The girl's eyes shut closed at remembering Kiyama Harumi's words, and she cringed over the railing as a fresh wave of pain hit the very core of her heart. Behind the tightly squeezed eyelids flashed disturbing images that had been burned brutally into her mind over the last month, scarring her forever.

So much had changed during that period of time. Misaka Mikoto had once believed in the idealistic world, believed that Academy City was the perfect home for people like her, believed that there was good to be found in everyone. But she realised now how naïve, stupid, and even arrogant she had been, to think that evil could not touch her.

Muscular dystrophy.

That was the lie they had fed her and she so willingly had taken to heart.

Mikoto had not personally known anyone with such a condition; she had only just met the children at the research centre she visited on that fateful day years ago. And yet, she had thought how wonderful it would be if the sick children could be healed, to walk and run as she could. The youthful mind had never doubted the scientist's promise that was so full of hope- that the children could be cured if Mikoto gave them her DNA.

A pitiful sob escaped from her lips as her head drooped, forehead almost touching the bare arms heavily leaning against the cold iron. Her fists were clenched tightly, unshed tears silently lingering between the shut eyelids. Violent images and sounds continued to assault her mind relentlessly. A Sister's torso brutally ripped apart; a broken limb- so familiar- being shattered to small pieces of flesh and bone; screams in which she recognised her own voice, riddled with so much unimaginable suffering; crimson blood erupting in fountains, staining the grey concrete with its rich colour; stale air reeking of death…

"…me…. Hel…p…. Help… me…."

In this world, no one was stupid enough to help a complete stranger. It wasn't because everyone was cold-hearted, no… That wasn't it. It was self-preservation, a natural instinct that judged self-safety more important than the safety of others. There was no real reason for one to dive into the mess of other people's lives and become injured because of it. If someone did, if someone willingly sacrificed themselves to save a complete stranger, the person was simply an idiot.

An idiot.

A certain spikey-haired boy swam into mind, but she dismissed it quickly. No one could help her now. This was her problem, a terrible one that she had caused because of her own stupid mistakes and foolishness. What was done could not be reversed, but she had to find the solution and act it out herself to find justice. It was a burden she alone had to carry, she knew. And it was for that reason Mikoto had not called out to anyone for assistance.

Until now.

In the face of terror, in the face of the most horrifying darkness Mikoto never knew existed, in the face of her punishment that was to come, her mouth opened of its own accord and whispered the two words her prideful nature had never allowed.

"…Help… me…"

No one was there to listen. It didn't matter anyway. Even if she screamed it out loud, nothing would change…

"Meow"

Her eyes snapped open, suddenly alert. She quickly looked around, searching for the source of the sound.

A small black cat stood a little distance away, watching her carefully with pair of curious yellow eyes. Mikoto stared back blankly, wondering where the creature had come from. She bitterly noted how the animal was afraid to come closer, keeping what it probably considered a safe distance away. This was just another of life's cruelties… That the animals Mikoto loved so much never dared to come near the Electromaster. Her body's natural emission of electromagnetic waves made many sensitive animals such as cats uncomfortable and scared. Her powers, she suddenly realised now, had been a constant source of all her problems.

Still the two stared at each other, the cat and the Esper, as if daring the other to approach closer. Mikoto almost imagined that the cat knew. It wasn't just because of her power. It was the cat's knowledge of what she had done that made the creature afraid. It knew she was a murderer… A monster… Everyone knew…

Sounds of running footsteps broke Mikoto out of her dark reverie. She tore her gaze away from the cat's and looked up where a figure was approaching from the darkness. Her brown eyes widened, recognising the person. It was the idiot- Kamijou Touma- who believed himself to be a hero. She stood, transfixed once more, this time on the certain spikey haired boy. He stopped before her, a distance away, heaving in lungfuls of air.

"What are you doing?" Touma asked, trying to steady his breath. He looked as if he had run quite a long distance. His black eyes were fixed determinedly on Mikoto, glinting with purpose and… something else she could not quite place.

For a moment, the girl in the Tokiwadai uniform stared back dumbly, unable to form a coherent thought. Then, like an automatic defence system, the usual mask of the prideful Level 5 slipped on naturally. A slight smirk complete with a touch of arrogance curved upon her lips, and the usual glint entered the brown orbs.

"Heh, what all of a sudden?" Even her voice was carefree, not a single trace of the previous pain could be found. She flicked a strand of hair back, the perfect picture of a snobby princess.

"What I do in my spare time is my business right? It's not really your place to be telling me off because I'm having fun out late at night-"

"Stop it," The spikey-haired guy's voice interrupted her, but Mikoto resumed carelessly.

"Stop what? I'm Misaka Mikoto the Railgun, one of the seven level 5's, ranked third in Academy City. Telling me I can't stay outside late…"

Her narrowed eyes flitted across to him slyly, but what she saw next completely crumbled her entire mask.

Touma had wordlessly taken out a stack of papers, holding it out in clear view for her to see. Even in darkened shadows, Mikoto could clearly make out the familiar print. They were papers that were currently supposed to be under her bed, safely within the clothes of her giant stuffed toy- Killbear. They were documents that she had so carefully hidden away from other eyes. The scientific reports that spoke of the inhumane Radio Noise project with such chilling and detached mannerisms…

Time was frozen. Her widened eyes were glued to the papers in disbelief and pure shock. Her mind whirled wildly, unable to form a single understandable thought and rendering her speechless.

"I know about Misaka Imouto, about the Sisters, about the plan… About Accelerator," Touma broke the silence with a decisive voice, "So let's save us both some time."

The shocked silence continued for a long moment as if it hadn't been interrupted. Something clicked in Mikoto's chaotic mind, and she immediately re-arranged her face back to that perfect mask of uncaring indifference.

The Tokiwadai girl let out a dramatic sigh accompanied by a smile, as if she was dealing with some mild nuisance that she really didn't want to be bothered with.

"Just what are you? You met my clone yesterday and you've already looked that far into it?" Her heart was thumping erratically, but her expression was one of cool detachment, completely hiding the bewilderment and shock that were still swirling within.

_'So he found out…'_ Pieces of a puzzle were being scrambled in her thoughts, begging to be put together.

"But for you to have those documents means you went into my room right?" Her tone was mingled with amused laughter, and a smile quirked on her lips. She saw Touma visibly gulp in the darkness and knew that her act was doing the job perfectly.

_'To someone as meddlesome as him, this plan would be unforgivable…'_ A piece of the puzzle was set up, anticipating its next match.

_'From his point of view I must have looked like an accomplice by giving them my DNA map. So he came here to blame me…'_

"Tch, you even looked inside my stuffed toy! That's a death penalty right there! A death penalty!" Mikoto wagged a finger at him, grinning as if she truly enjoyed the scolding.

_'No matter how you look at this situation, the end result is the same. Being condemned by someone will make it easier…' _The picture was almost complete and comprehensible; only one final piece of the puzzle remained.

"So…" Her tone was light and playful.

_Can I get you to fill that role then?_

"Do you think I am unforgivable?"

Mikoto stood still, the wry grin dancing on her features as she regarded him in a mocking way. Her heart was now set on what she knew would be the inevitable outcome. Her destined fate.

The guy stared with angered eyes that drilled into her very soul. She barely managed to keep from shivering at the intensity of it.

"How could you?!"

Even with her mind so firmly set on her destiny, her heart still sunk into an even darker abyss to hear such furious and accusatory words from the guy's mouth. Mikoto had played her part well… Too well… It was almost regretful, but there was no turning back now. She could not allow herself to break down after so long.

She could hear her heart shattering to tiny pieces, but still she silently thanked the boy and purposefully allowed the grin to grow bigger. She sneered, pretending she had no clue what he was talking about.

"How could I what?"

Touma took a step forward, a fist clenching tightly. His eyes sparkled ominously, and she realised now that she had never seen him so furious before.

"You know what I'm talking about dammit! This… experiment… It kills people! How could you just go along with that?! How could you live with it?!"

_I can't… That's why I'm doing this…_

A delicate laugh rang out in the space between them without missing a beat.

"I thought you read the report already?" Mikoto questioned mockingly, "What part of the word 'clones' can you not comprehend?"

Touma's anger deepened, his eyes narrowing to slits. She could feel his emotions beginning to boil, and she mildly wondered if he would actually kill her himself.

"Do you seriously think that?!" He shouted. His loud voice almost made her flinch, but Mikoto kept her cool expression under tight control. "They feel pain, they feel fear, they breathe and think just as we do, don't they?! Just because they were-"

"Created in tanks full of chemicals. By scientists." Mikoto interrupted in a bored voice. "I don't really think of them as humans." Before Touma could furiously protest, she continued on ruthlessly. "They're made from my DNA, donated by me. I believe I would perhaps be slightly more knowledgeable about this situation than you are."

His angered expression froze up at some point during her speech, eyes wide with disbelief.

"What?" Mikoto asked when Touma did not speak, sneering at him with one eye lazily closed.

"Y-you… You actually gave them your DNA willingly?"

_Yes, as much as I wish it wasn't so… I don't even have to lie about this one._

"Yes, I did," Mikoto said coolly, "I don't see how it's any of your concern."

His mouth drooped into a terrible frown.

"You know… I always thought you were a decent person," Touma's voice was horribly strained, "You always smiled so cheerfully, you were always so energetic… But that was all an act wasn't it? Often I could see your crude and prideful nature, but I never thought you… a murderer."

Mikoto felt her soul shattering into a million pieces all over again. Murderer. It was one thing to call yourself that, but another experience altogether to hear somebody else condemn you as such. She quickly turned her face towards the darkness, pretending her attention was elsewhere. Her mask was crumbling and she could not allow him to see it.

A deep silence ensued, expanding like a vast ocean between them. A distance that could never be crossed.

"Ah~" Mikoto whipped her head back to face him once she recovered. Her expression was completely composed once more, exposing the confident mask out in full light of the lamps for Touma to see.

"You're as meddlesome as ever. Seriously…" She heaved a big sigh, as if giving up against a spoilt, stubborn child. "You think this is some opportunity to become the hero you so desperately want to be?"

His jaws clenched so tightly the crunching sound of his teeth was almost audible.

"You think this is me trying to be a hero?! That's just…"

He trailed off as his fingers curled to fists, unable to find words to express his turmoil of emotions.

The strengthening wind was blowing her hair into her eyes, but Mikoto did not move to brush the strands away. She simply stared at him in utter silence, her face void of any emotion. She could not trust herself to show anything at this point. One tiny crack of the perfect mask and she knew her resolve could shatter into a million pieces.

_I can't let that happen now. _

"Fine," she said after a long moment, "do what you want. I trust you to look after my Sisters…"

_After I'm gone…_

The Tokiwadai girl breathed in deeply, wishing she could have said the final few words out aloud. Perhaps, after her inevitable fate plays out, Touma would realise her hint and even find room in his heart to forgive her. Even a just little bit. It would be more than she deserved though.

When he said nothing, Mikoto turned and casually began to walk away. The night was becoming colder with every passing minute, but she hardly felt the chill. Sweat ran down her back in small rivulets. It had taken all of her will and concentration not to spill everything to Touma. She had somehow managed up until now, but any more and she thought she would break. Physically, mentally and emotionally, she was on the brink of exhaustion.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Touma yelled at her back. Mikoto stopped walking, but did not turn.

"I told you it's none of your business." Her voice was flat and cold. She didn't even need to act anymore. Bubbles of frustration were beginning to grow inside, twisting and churning with the wish that he would just let her be.

_It will be over if you just let me go…!_

But of course, he couldn't know that.

If Kamijou Touma found out what she was really planning, Mikoto honestly didn't know what he would do. Even after all this time, she did not know him that well. He wasn't someone she could confidently call a friend, and she didn't think he would either. Perhaps he would tell her she deserved it. Perhaps he would be sad and angry at her fate. Perhaps he would fight. Whatever his reaction would turn out to be though, she didn't really want to find out.

_It's easier this way…_

"Are you seriously going to do nothing about this?!" His voice was also cold. More icy than she had ever heard it. She repressed a shiver, but did not reply. The darkness was expanding out beyond, and she focused on its nothingness, its overwhelming magnitude.

Mikoto heard him take a step towards her.

"How can you not care?! Are you really that heartless?!"

Her heart throbbed painfully in response but she still made no sound. She stood frozen like a statue, light breaths coming out in quick but silent gasps. Further ahead were bright sparkles of lights from the city, shining like distant stars. As Mikoto stared at them, these artificial starlights began to grow and blur into multicoloured circles. She blinked frantically.

Another step was taken, approaching closer. Her body tensed instinctively.

"If you're not going to do anything, then I will put an end to this crazy experiment myself!"

A slight twist of her neck brought his impassioned expression into the corner of Mikoto's vision. The careful mask revealed nothing. Her brown orbs stared at him impassively, lips tightened into a thin line.

"There's another experiment tonight," Mikoto said softly. Her voice was strangely strained, so she cleared her throat and continued, "but that's really none of your business as I've been repeatedly saying for the last ten minutes." She paused briefly, then continued on. "You can't stop the experiments. No one can." Her voice trembled slightly despite herself. "There is just no way to do so…"

_That's why I have to do this._

Such thoughts strengthened her resolve. This was the path she had to take and it was unavoidable. Mikoto quickly toughened her vocal cords, forcing them to produce more confident tones.

"So I suggest you stop with the delusions already. Just forget all this and go back to where you were before. I'd rather you didn't get involved. You could seriously get hurt."

"Tch… I don't care about that. If you also get in my way, I won't hesitate to stop you either!"

This guy was different from other people. From the moment Mikoto had first set eyes on him on that fateful night many months ago, she had known. He wasn't afraid of diving head-first into the chaos of other people's problems. Some would call him nosy; others would describe such a trait as pure stupidity. She enjoyed calling him an idiot, but secretly… She admired him for it. To have that much desire to help others in your heart was no easy feat. It took courage to care for others, to put their needs before yours. In her eyes, the guy before her had nothing to prove. In her eyes, he was already a hero.

She wanted to scream out the truth to him, to cry and hold him tightly, to beg for help… But the Electromaster could not allow herself to do any of these things. This time, it wasn't her usual sinful pride that was holding her back. After all, she wasn't the victim in this situation. She was the villain and no one could save her. It was because she didn't deserve to be saved.

"Whatever you say." The brown-haired girl declared flatly. "Do what you want. By the time you try to do anything anyway… It'll be over."

Mikoto turned her head back, eyes becoming blurry. She blinked hurriedly and began to walk away again, wanting to escape from this place… From him.

She sensed him move behind her, and abruptly whipped around to face him, for what was hoped to be the last time. She quickly spoke before he could.

"Don't look for me again. You wouldn't be able to find me anyway… Good bye, you idiot."

Her voice shook terribly, disturbingly out of sync with her trembling body and palpitating heart. With horror Mikoto felt something wet run down her right cheek and quickly turned away. As her chest constricted tightly, the urge to flee as quickly as possible overwhelmed all other thoughts. With a barely contained sob shaking her shoulders, she broke into a fast run, athletic legs swiftly carrying her away into that expanding darkness in the distance.

On the bridge, the lone spikey-haired teenager stood frozen, staring after her form that was rapidly fading into the shrouding, dark shadows.

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**Shadrala:****Hey there, thanks for reading my first published chapter ever! I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I am rather busy RL these days so I might take a loooong time to update, please bear with me! I'm not going to abandon the story though, I have some interesting ideas for this one! Sorry to those Touma x Mikoto fans (yes I am one myself), but this one will be Accel x Mikoto- which is rare but I think appropriate for the plotline.**

**This story will also be updated on my new writing blog: [please refer to my profile for the link] which will also be updated from time to time with my original stories.**

**Thanks again, please feel free to give me feedback, I want to improve my writing of course!**


	2. Chapter 2

**~TRACES OF YOUR TEARS~**

**Shadrala: Thank you for all the reviews/favourites/follows! Your support means a lot to me, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story as it progresses. Yes, this ****is**** an Accel x Mikoto fanfic and I agree with the reasoning of those who mentioned the existence of Harry Potter fandom's Hermione x Tom Riddle pairing! Some of those are epic, really! Hopefully I can make this idea work just as well. Their relationship isn't going to be your casual happy love story... It'll be... Well, we'll find out as we go, won't we? ;) Enough of my babbling, right on to it.**

**Disclaimer: The canon characters, canon plots/ ideas, anything canon- do not belong to me, but the creators of the original Toaru universe.**

**Warning: Fanfic Rated R**

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**CHAPTER 2**

In the wake of the Sun's deep slumber, the back alleys of Academy City had become conquered by darkness alone. Without a single glimmer of light in existence, such a place allowed no room for shadows. The tall buildings that created these corridors under the night sky blocked out any strands of illumination from the distance, looming forebodingly as their shadows merged into pure ebony. Metal piping ran along the building walls like twisted snakes, ready to strike out at any moment. The ground was littered with junk and debris- cigarette butts, empty bottles, discarded packaging, plastic wrappers- strewn in filthy dirt and grime. These alleyways formed a wild maze within Academy City, a sanctuary for the delinquents, the dangerous, and the different.

A certain brown-haired girl sat curled up in one of these narrow passages, the darkness tightly wrapped around her form. Its chilly touch caressed her and she shivered. Her arms were tightly wound around her knees as if to prevent her physical self from literally breaking apart. She stared up into the blurred night sky, tears running freely from her eyes like an unstoppable river. The harsh words that had left the lips of a certain spikey-haired boy kept repeating in her mind, striking her soul like blows from a steel hammer. She tortured herself by reinforcing each one, believing that she deserved them all. A swirling whirlpool of despair was ruthlessly sucking her into its bottomless depths, and she was merely hanging onto the one last single thread of hope she had left.

But in the end, even that, would not be able to save her.

Mikoto had never truly considered death before all this nightmare began. She had never felt the need to dwell on such a fate; it had seemed so far away and irrelevant. It had seemed a vague concept that had absolutely no connection to her, at least for a long, long time yet. But now it was staring at the teenager with its horrible red eyes and grinning jaws, its terrifying claws outstretched and ready to lead her down into the very heart of the abyss.

Silent sobs wracked her body as the raw truth suddenly hit her fresh.

Death.

What did it even mean?

She would no longer exist in this world. She would never again see any of her loved ones. Her mother Misuzu, her father Tabikake, her closest friends- Shirai Kuroko, Saten Ruiko, Uiharu Kazari… They would become lost to her and she to them. Would they be able to cope with her disappearance? Of course, Academy City would come up with some cover story to save their own faces and reputation. Mikoto's death would be explained as a simple accident, nothing more. Only a few people, only those scumbags who had been directly involved in this nightmare, would ever know the truth.

The level 5 leaned her head back against the wall, eyes closing as she steadied her breath. Why was she still crying? Hadn't she accepted her fate already? She cursed the spikey-haired idiot for ruining her resolve. It was his fault, for suddenly turning up like that and shattering the wall she had steadily built over time. He had reminded her of her family and friends, of what she had and what she would lose. So many small things, words and deeds now seemed of utmost significance in the face of the finale. They say you don't truly realise what you have until you lose it all. Walking into the absolute finality, Mikoto could understand this as the ultimate truth of life. And now, she only had a few minutes to reconstruct her determination and separate her heart from her mind again...

_'No more…. I can't be like this…'_

A final tear escaped, leaving a wet trail which she immediately wiped away with a hand. A long minute crawled by as her erratic breathing slowed into a gentle rhythm. When the girl opened her eyes once more, there was a new fire burning deep within.

She had an important job to do, and she couldn't let such shattering emotions or negative thoughts get in her way.

The Electromaster stood up, her back sliding against the wall. She could still feel the cold fingers of the darkness stroking her tense and shivering form, touching every part they could reach. As if the darkness knew she was already almost completely in its possession...

With a deep breath, Misaka Mikoto squared her shoulders and walked out into the streets, the ebony fast shrinking into simple shadows under the bright street lamps. She glanced at the large clock hanging on a building wall, lit by colourful neon lights. 9:34 pm it read, and she stared at the numbers blankly as ice filled her chest.

The experiment would have already started. She was late.

Cursing under her breath, Mikoto broke into a run, the cold air whipping across her face and dancing in her hair. Self-disgust at having wasted precious time with self-pity drove her onwards faster, jaws tightly clenched and a fire raging wildly in her brown eyes. She had been sitting there feeling sorry for herself, while her Sister could be already… Her fingernails dug into her palms painfully, but her mind hardly registered it.

The pain in her heart was too great for her to feel anything else.

A couple of people walking by stared at the school girl running so desperately, but Mikoto truly could not care less about what she looked like at this moment.

Only one thing was important now.

And that was saving the Sisters.

_Her_ Sisters.

* * *

"So, you're the next doll for the experiment, huh?"

At the Switchyard of School District 17, a skinny albino figure sat upon a large cargo metal box. His posture was completely relaxed, a twisted smirk lazily lingering upon his pale lips.

"Yes. This Misaka is serial number 10032, Misaka identifies herself."

A brown-haired girl in Tokiwadai uniform stood before him nearby the railway tracks, blank eyes gazing upwards calmly. Her third-person speech was intoned in a detached manner, the monotonous voice lacking any inflections.

"Before we begin, wouldn't it be wise for you to verify the password to make sure that this Misaka is actually part of the experiment? Misaka responsibly advises."

"Tch," For a moment, a mild look of annoyance crossed the albino's features. But it was quickly replaced by an amused grin, his grey eyes glinting strangely under the silver moonlight.

"Honestly, I hate to question you when you're so diligently performing your role in an experiment to increase _my _strength. But you strike me as unnaturally relaxed, given your situation.

The mocking grin grew wider, "Are you sure your mind isn't occupied with something else?"

The girl stared impassively at the taunting figure leering down at her.

"The phrase 'something else' is too vague for this Misaka to fully comprehend, Misaka replies with some confusion."

Her voice was quiet, but the silence of the night amplified it.

"Three minutes and twenty seconds remain until the experiment is scheduled to begin. Are you ready, Misaka enquires seeking confirmation."

The man sitting atop the crate let out a bark of laughter.

"I don't think I will ever understand how you could be so willing to throw your life away."

He tilted his head, gazing down at the girl before him as if observing a fascinating insect under a microscope.

"My life to me is more important than anything else in the world. Which is why my desire for greater power will never disappear or diminish. So it doesn't matter if I've killed 100 or 10000 of you dolls in this experiment as long as I'm getting stronger!"

The grin on his face twisted upwards, exposing his sharp canines. "Your petty deaths mean nothing to me!"

"You say you cannot understand Misaka, but Misaka also finds your behaviour confusing, Misaka replies honestly." The girl spoke up. "You are Accelerator, already the strongest Level 5 in Academy City. You are in a position where nobody else can touch you. So there is no need for you to become more powerful, Misaka states reasonably."

"The strongest, huh?" The albino said almost wistfully. "Yeah, that's true… But how have people arrived at that evaluation of me? They named me the strongest Level 5 because they actually fought me and got beaten. That's the basis for my classification right there!"

His voice suddenly turned harsh, eyes narrowing sharply. "I'm at the top of the heap because a bunch of dimwits thought to themselves, 'hey, I think it'll be fun to fight with that guy and see what he can really do!'"

His lips pinched together as if tasting something sour. "Well, that's not good enough. It's not even close. I've got bigger plans for myself. That level of power is insignificant!"

Accelerator's voice rose in pitch, making him sound quite deranged. "The power I'm after goes way beyond that. I don't want people thinking that fighting me would be an interesting challenge; I want the very idea of going up against me to be unthinkable, something that nobody would dare!"

The girl stood unshaken, staring up at the white figure as if unimpressed by his declarations.

"One minute thirty seconds until the experiment commences. Are you certain that you are ready to begin, Misaka asks, again seeking confirmation."

Accelerator let out a sigh.

"I thought we could kill a little time before we got to the main event, but this is just hopeless. There's no point in trying to hold a normal conversation with you.

With the agility of a cat, he leaped off the tall crate and landed on his feet solidly without a sound. A predatory grin split across his face as he lifted his head to reveal two dilated pupils staring at the girl before him.

"Okay then, are _you_ ready? It's almost time for you to kick the bucket, you substandard factory reject."

The girl put on the green goggles. Its screen lit up with an eerie glow of light.

"The time is 9:29:45. We will now commence trial number 10032."

Accelerator smirked, lunging forwards into a deadly blur of white.

* * *

On the iron bridge stood a certain spikey-haired boy, staring into the unfathomable darkness that had swallowed a certain Electromaster only moments ago. His body was frozen, wide eyes glued to the never-ending gloom in the distance. Images of the brown-haired girl filled his mind to the brim- the cheerful smiles and laughter, always bursting with energy; her arrogant and prideful smirks; the fiery, hot-headed willfulness that never ceased to give up; that swift, athletic turn of her body to deliver a powerful roundhouse to a certain vending machine…

She was the last person Touma would have expected to possess such a darkness.

Various emotions had flickered in his heart when he had faced her earlier. Anger, betrayal, frustration…

But now, confusion was at the forefront of them all.

For Touma was quite certain he had seen the sparkle of a teardrop fall as Misaka Mikoto had turned away. In the months he had known her, he had always perceived her as unbreakable, tough, stubborn and headstrong. He had gotten into all sorts of trouble because of her eagerness for a fight, and he wasn't even sure if she considered him a friend.

Prideful.

Strong.

And yet…

A single teardrop had fallen as she turned away.

So what was the truth?

A hand raised to clutch a fistful of spikey black hair, and his jaws clenched in the face of utter cluelessness. He closed his eyes, trying to think against the headache that was beginning to throb and gnaw at his mind.

Just what was the truth?

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**Shadrala: Thanks for reading; please review if you can- feedback greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**~TRACES OF YOUR TEARS~**

**Shadrala:** **Thanks for all the reviews/ follows/ favourites/ pm! Sorry if I didn't reply and you feel neglected, I promise, I DO read them and I'm very very grateful for your support! :) For those who said the blurb doesn't seem to have anything to do with the story so far and that this seems to be a rewrite of the original canon plotline, I promise you, it's coming! We're only 2 chapters away from where the ****_real _****fun begins. So hold onto your seats and we shall be arriving there in a couple of updates time. I've decided to focus more on this story for now (out of my two current writing projects) since I have limited time to write, so hopefully that won't be tooo long. Anyways, hope you enjoy the third installment! :)**

**Disclaimer: The canon characters, canon plots/ ideas, anything canon- do not belong to me, but the creators of the original Toaru universe.**

**Warning: Fanfic Rated R**

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**CHAPTER 3:**

21st August, 9:34 pm

Sounds of crackling electricity pierced through the silent night, echoing between the maze-like corridors formed by giant cargo crates. Blue sparks arced and danced along the metal, sizzling with furious brilliance and drowning out the illumination of the moon. At the Switchyard of District 17, a battle was unfolding between a certain brown-haired girl with a number for a name and the strongest of Academy City, known as Accelerator.

"Hey, hey, what do you think you're doing?" the albino called out amusedly. He stood on top of a crate, peering down upon the fleeing girl as if he were a cat observing a rather fascinating mouse. It was only a matter of time before boredom would awaken in the predator and incite him to finish this chasing game. For now though, he looked as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself, a toothy grin spread across his pale features.

The girl stopped in her tracks. A slight twist of her neck upwards brought Accelerator into her line of sight.

"Misaka is carrying out her function as required for Experiment 10032, Misaka answers you with the obvious."

"Hmm?" The albino leaned forward, the twisted amusement still glinting in his moonlit silver eyes.

"Are you sure you're still even functional?"

"Misaka is very much functional, Misaka answers the positive while inwardly wondering the reasons behind your question. Misaka had various routine checkups before the commencement of this experiment, Misaka assures you. These included heart rate, brain wave electroencephalography, blood pressure, fitness-"

"Tch! Spare me the boring details!" Accelerator interrupted the girl's monotonous and lengthy reply with a dismissive wave of a hand. "I don't fucking give a shit."

"If you don't care then Misaka requests immediate continuation of the experiment at hand, Misaka asks politely."

Without waiting for his reply, the girl with the green goggles sent a blast of crackling electricity towards the level 5. Accelerator did not even move a finger nor flinch; as soon as the burst of blue power neared him, it exploded outwards harmlessly, leaving him completely unscathed.

His smirk grew wider as Misaka 10032 spun around on her heels and began to run away again.

Aided by his Esper powers, Accelerator leaped onto another crate, following his prey's movements at the most leisurely pace he could allow while still keeping an eye on her. As the clone rounded a corner down below, an outstretched hand delivered another burst of electricity towards the albino. Once again, the attempt became directed away harmlessly by the intended target.

Hints of annoyance began to pull down at the corners of the strongest's lips.

"You're not doing a very good job of convincing me you're not broken," Accelerator's tone was not dissimilar to that of a customer complaining about a faulty item. "For the last five minutes, you've just been throwing your pathetic electricity at me and running around these crates like a headless chicken."

He clucked his tongue.

"Pointless."

The albino rubbed the insides of his right ear with a slender index finger, staring down at the clone with a growing expression of boredom. He leapt off the crate and the girl stopped her sprint, spinning around to face him calmly as he approached the clone with slow, predatory steps.

"The other copies of you weren't _this_ boring. At least, they still came up with some interesting methods, even though none of them were effective. Aren't you supposed to give me a challenge so I can reach level 6?"

The albino leered, staring at his prey with pinprick pupils that could only be described as those of a maniac's. Each footstep fell closer to the girl clothed in Tokiwadai uniform, but she did not move away nor make a sound.

"Maybe I'll just tear you apart bit by bit and have the scientists re-examine your innards for any defections."

A twisted grin formed and grew across his pale face as the Level 5 spoke.

"I can't afford to have you dolls already malfunctioning before I even start these experiments, can I? Who knows? Maybe if you're lucky, they'll be able to save a few parts that are still working properly and recycle them. How does that sound, you broken piece of junk?"

Throughout those disturbing words, the girl remained stoic, revealing nothing of her inner thoughts.

"Heh, can you even understand what I'm saying?" Only the distance of a meter separated the two figures, and Accelerator stopped his advances with the deformed grin still intact.

A long moment of silence ensued before the girl opened her mouth.

"Tonight the wind is at zero miles per hour."

"Huh?" Momentarily confused by the clone's random statement, Accelerator's expression blanked. Then a sly smile flittered across his lips.

"You really are broken aren't you? You can't even-"

The albino abruptly stopped. His sharp nose angled upwards in the air, a small frown pulled his white eyebrows together as one of his five senses suddenly sent a warning alarm through his system.

"Wait. What's that smell?"

A long silence ensued; his silver eyes widened as suspicion abruptly transformed into realisation.

"So that's it." The skinny albino covered his nose with a hand. "You're breaking down the oxygen with electricity to form ozone. If you take away the air, I'll pass out. Is that the idea?"

The girl offered no reply, but the silence was answer enough.

The crooked grin returned. "That's very good~! You clever little thing!"

As he let out a bark of delighted laughter, the clone broke into a run once more, trying to regain some distance between them. A light stomp on the ground with a foot elevated Accelerator up into the air, and the Level 5 landed atop a crate overlooking the area. He stood there, simply watching the girl's flight with amused eyes.

"I like this turn of events. I guess after 10000 of you are killed off, you're bound to start getting a little bit crafty, huh?"

Misaka 10032 kept her legs pumping forward, looking back over her shoulder as Accelerator called out to her.

"There's something you forgot to keep in mind though."

Those pinprick pupils dilated further as they focused on his fleeing prey. His pale lips thinned out, almost splitting his face in half with a diabolic grin spread from ear to ear.

"Once I catch you, this cute little plan of yours is going to fail spectacularly!"

The Esper's body suddenly became a blur of white and black. Within the time it took for the fleeing girl to blink her eyes, he had crossed the space between them and was flying beside her, his skinny figure parallel to the ground. The clone's blank eyes widened. Gritting her teeth, she energised her strides, trying to pick up more speed.

Her efforts were in vain; the white blur continued to keep up with her, no matter how fast she ran.

"Why are you so surprised?" Accelerator's voice was thick with humour, and his eyes continued to trail on his target beside him. "All I did was change the kinetic momentum underneath my feet."

Before she could understand what had happened, the girl found herself suddenly airborne, a sharp pain at her side. She landed hard on the concrete ground, and tumbled a few times before coming to rest, facedown. A shadow loomed over her, and she immediately struggled to get up. Before she could however, a sharp blow hit her stomach and her arms gave way as she yelped in pain. Her body hit the ground hard and she cringed into herself.

The girl's assailant stood over her fallen form, lips parted in a toothy smile of amusement at his victim's predicament.

"Do you know how you can hit your opponent without doing any harm to your own hands and feet?"

He let out a chuckle as the clone let out a moan of pain in reply.

"It's easy."

A violent blow was delivered to the victim's gut. Her pupils dilated in agony and she let out a high-pitched cry as the kick belatedly sent waves of fire along her torso. To the girl, the pain seemed worse than before, if that was even possible.

Even so, she struggled to get up again, her arms straining to bear her weight.

"You just have to change the direction of kinetic momentum."

Another kick. This time the girl fell with a scream of anguish, her hands flying to her stomach in a vain effort to ease the horrible pain. Accelerator's smile merely grew wider, looking highly entertained by the girl's suffering.

"Just direct it away the second you touch her."

Another kick. The girl curled up into a tight ball, eyes scrunched closed.

"Of course, the damage she takes does increase by the factor of that."

A violent fit of coughing erupted as the Esper's shoe connected with her body once again. The girl writhed on the ground as a stream of blood spurted from between her lips, staining the ground with crimson. Grinning like a maniac, Accelerator placed a foot on her back, pinning her to the ground with unrivalled roughness. She squirmed, her body twisting viciously.

The albino laughed loudly as he watched the girl struggle. She was like a worm to him, wriggling in desperation beneath his fervent hold. The fear his victim was exuding was intoxicating, making him feel invincible. It was moments like this that Accelerator thought he could understand what being God may truly feel like. He bathed in this feeling of raw power, drinking in his trembling prey's trepidation.

The Level 5 leaned forward and pressed his foot harder into her back. He craned his neck to observe the clone's shifting expressions as the pain intensified. For a long moment he persisted, watching in fascination as the girl's eyes widened and closed, lips parting to produce wordless cries and moans. Her fingers clutched desperately at the small stones scattered on the ground, flailing legs kicking up dust into the air. For a while, the albino simply observed these small details in turn with sickly grey eyes.

He watched as the girl's panicked orbs gradually returned to their usual blank, and her limbs stopped their wild movements, slumping onto the cold ground without resistance. Having realised her attempts were futile, Misaka 10032 became quiet, simply lying facedown beneath Accelerator's foot. The only sign that she was still alive was the sound of her ragged breathing and the rhythmic push of her strained ribs against her assailant's hold.

"Huh?" Accelerator tilted his head questioningly. "Is that it? I guess I should finish this game then."

He lifted his foot off the girl's back. She remained unmoving and silent except for the rattling sounds of agonised breathing. Leaning towards her, a slender, outstretched hand lingered in the air above the girl's body hesitantly.

"I'm feeling generous today so I'll let you choose: how would you like to kick the bucket today, hmm?"

Pale eyes ran up and down over her prone form as the albino licked his lips hungrily. Only the clone's strained breathing could be heard in reply. A fist clenched around some loose stones on the ground, as if a new resolve was beginning to settle within the girl.

"Ah, maybe you're not done yet? But I'm getting bored of this game, so I think I'll just finish you off."

The albino's leg swung back like a catapult, ready to unleash the final, fatal blow on the prone girl before him. As his foot shot forward to deliver its destruction, the girl squeezed her eyelids together, waiting for the inevitable eruption of pain and darkness to arrive.

"Accelerator!"

Misaka 10032's eyes flew open at the familiar voice and her assailant's leg froze in mid-kick. A slight frown marring his forehead, Accelerator turned to identify the source of the shout. His grey eyes locked on the newcomer, widening as he was met with another vision of his target. Beside him on the ground, the clone had turned her head as well, large eyes gazing at the person before them with surprise.

She had the same face, the same hair, the same clothing… As them. But her expression alone was enough for Accelerator to realise the truth- that this was no clone.

It was _her_. The Original of these 20,000 mass produced "Sisters".

Misaka Mikoto, the third ranked Level 5 of Academy City.

The Railgun.

"Step away from her," the Original's voice was quiet, but it rang across the space between them commandingly.

Accelerator did not comply, simply standing still with a stony expression, eyes fixed on that physical figure he had come to know so well over the months. Although they shared the same appearance, his first meeting with the Original herself had felt different, and that feeling suddenly became renewed like some bizarre déjà vu. It wasn't just the power difference between the Level 5 Railgun and the Level 3 clones. That face he knew so well, the face that usually held nothing but a void kept wavering and shifting in a turmoil of emotions on this particular individual. It mystified and piqued his curiosity in some strange way he couldn't quite place a finger on.

"I said, step away from her!" The Railgun's tones grew rough. Her eyebrows were knitted together into a menacing frown, brown eyes beneath them glaring at the albino murderously.

"Tch." A small grin tugged at a corner of Accelerator's lips. "What's up with ya, third-rate?"

"Stop… Misaka… calls out to you both."

Bloodied and bruised, the fallen Sister muttered from where she lay. Her head feebly rose to look directly at Mikoto. She inhaled deeply, steadying her breathing before speaking again.

"Onee-sama… should not have interfered with the experiment… that was just about to conclude… Misaka chastises… the Original."

Mikoto's gaze flickered to the fallen girl briefly, lips thinning ever so slightly. Then her eyes turned back to Accelerator, completely ignoring the Sister's speech as she slowly walked forwards.

"Just leave her be! Your fight's with me now."

The albino's lopsided grin grew bigger at hearing the Electromaster's declaration.

"What's with the suicide wish? Didn't our meeting last time teach you anything? I'm only grouped with you as a Level 5 because that's the highest level in Academy City. It's the same as eyesight tests that only go up to 20/20. I have no choice _but_ to be grouped together with a weakling like you!"

The Railgun said nothing, but the edges of her determined eyes tightened.

"Misaka… Doesn't understand…" 10032 breathed. Her widened eyes were brimming with uncertainty and pain. "Misaka is just… an artificial body created for this experiment… She can be recreated with just a push… of a button at the cost of 180,000 yen-"

"Who cares about that?!" Mikoto interrupted her. Steely eyes continued to focus on Accelerator. "There's only one of you, got that?! And I won't forgive anyone... _Anyone_ who thinks otherwise!"

The fallen girl stared at her Onee-sama with an open mouth. Something stirred deep within her chest, but she failed to identify what it was. It unsettled her, but at the same time, made her warm inside.

A cold laugh pierced the night, chilling the air.

"You're not just dull and weak, you're incredibly thick too, aren't ya?" Accelerator sniggered, leering at the other Level 5. "You really think you can win?"

The fire in the Railgun's eyes flared brilliantly in response.

"Yes…" Tightly clenched fists hanging on either side of her shook with emotion. "I'll win and end all of this tonight!"

The albino snorted, clearly amused. A sadistic grin spread from ear to ear as his silver eyes locked on his next target.

"Alright then. Do try to make this entertaining… Miss _Railgun_."

Her alias was hissed out in a derogatory manner, a clear effort to mock and injure her pride. With that sadistic grin still pasted on his ghostly features, Accelerator moved to step forward. But as he did so, he felt something nearing his leg. Distractedly glancing down, he saw the fallen clone's outstretched hand reaching for him shakily, mustering all of her remaining strength to stop any advances on her Onee-sama.

"Misaka… advises you… To not fight the Original… In doing so… Anomalies may rise… Misaka warns- Argggh!"

A brutal kick to the clone's face sent her flying backwards, screaming. She rolled a few times on the ground before coming to rest face-down, completely limp and motionless. His pale face distorted with rage, Accelerator rounded on her, stalking up to the silent body with unmatched fury.

"Just shut the fuck up, you noisy piece of junk! I can do what the fuck I want-"

"STOP HURTING HER DAMMIT!"

Accelerator's head turned, eyes growing large with surprise at the sight that greeted him.

Her lips were parted in a roar of anguish, her previously controlled anger now contorted into an expression of pure hatred… Blue tendrils of raw power furiously danced around the Electric Princess, whipping her brown hair about wildly…

Brown eyes burning with unquenchable flames, the Railgun lunged forwards without a trace of hesitation, heading straight towards Accelerator…

And her doom.

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**Shadrala: Thank you for reading; please review if you can- feedback greatly appreciated. As I've said, even if I don't reply- I DO read them very carefully! :)**

**Also, remember to check back on my blog from time to time if you want a preview of the next chapter :P**


	4. Chapter 4

******~TRACES OF YOUR TEARS~**

**Disclaimer: The canon characters, canon plots/ ideas, anything canon- do not belong to me, but the creators of the original Toaru universe.**

**Warning: Fanfic Rated R- Darkness, death and graphic violence up ahead.**

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**CHAPTER 4:**

21st August, 9:38 pm

Misaka Mikoto.

This was the only person within the troubled mind of a certain spikey-haired boy.

After spending a frozen eternity upon that iron bridge, Kamijou Touma had somehow managed to regain movement in his stiff limbs. He was now slowly walking along the empty street, his heavy feet dragging behind him reluctantly. He had no idea where he was going, but his thoughts were too occupied to even care about this lack of a destination.

The bright sparkle of a tear continued to play in his mind, mocking and disturbing him.

No matter how much he tried to understand, to make sense of everything that had happened, Touma simply couldn't. He felt as if a major piece of a puzzle was missing, preventing him from forming the larger picture. Although he tried his best to ignore the nagging gut-feeling that this was somehow important, the unpleasant recognition of incomprehension continued to persist.

A frustrated sigh whooshed out from his lungs, his breath condensing in the cold air. His brain begged him to take a break from musing over this issue. But one thought pushed aside was quickly replaced by another, and all revolved around a single individual: Misaka Mikoto.

_"There are a total of seven Level 5s in Academy City, but based on the results from the Tree Diagram simulations, it has become clear that only one of them holds the potential to reach the as-yet unseen Level 6."_

Words from the report he had read earlier floated around in his bewildered thoughts.  
_  
"Through the standard curriculum, it would require 250 years for the subject to reach Level 6."_

Level 6…

Just what did that even mean?

They say that a Level 5 has enough power to stand against a military force on their own.

So just what kind of monster would a Level 6 be?

_"We thus abandoned this course of action and considered advancing his ability growth through live combat."_

Was this Level 6 so important that these scientists were willing to sacrifice other people's lives to attain it? Or did they just simply not care from the very start? To even consider killing someone 128 times was absurd. It was downright sick and twisted to the very core…

Wait.

Touma's footsteps faltered to a stop under a flickering street lamp.

_"Based on the simulations, we have concluded that by preparing 128 kinds of battlefields, and killing the Railgun 128 times, the subject would shift to Level 6."_

He stared down at his flickering shadow on the pavement beneath his feet.

Kill?

He only realised now how inappropriate that word was in referring to somebody who was supposedly cooperating with the project.

But… Hadn't Misaka said she donated her DNA willingly?

So he was right, wasn't he? She had known about this project and gave them their full consent…

_"However, as it proved impossible to procure multiple Railguns… We have decided to use the Sisters, originally from the suspended Radio Noise Project, as replacements. By using 20,000 Sisters in various combat scenarios, we may achieve a Level 6 Shift."_

His fingers curled in, forming tight fists. To agree to something so twisted…

_"Created in tanks full of chemicals. By scientists. I don't really think of them as humans."_

That was what she had said. Without a single care in the world.

And to Kamijou Touma, it was unforgivable.

But still, something didn't seem quite right. Something didn't add up.

The falling sparkle of a teardrop as she had turned away still refused to leave his mind.

What did it mean?

Was it regret? Was it guilt? Did the girl finally realise what horrors she had allowed?

Or was it…?

_"Do what you want. By the time you try to do anything anyway… It'll be over."_

His pulse quickened.

What would be over?

_"You can't stop the experiments. No one can. There is just no way to do so…"_

Was it just his memory failing him, or had her voice really trembled and shaken so terribly? He had been so caught up in the moment of his anger that he had failed to grasp these little details that now seemed to be of utter significance.

_"I trust you to look after my Sisters…"_

The flickering shadow extending from his feet swayed chaotically, as if it so desperately yearned to unite with the darkness that lay just out of its reach.

_"There's another experiment tonight."_

His eyes stared into that pool of black without blinking, drawn in by its supple and hypnotising movements.

_"Don't look for me again. You wouldn't be able to find me anyway…"_

What if…?

Touma's eyes widened.

Those careless smiles, those imprudent smirks, those cold, irredeemable words spoken so heartlessly…

What if…?

A teardrop, glinting so serenely as it fell in the darkness…

His fists shook.

No… No way… It couldn't be…

_"Good bye, you idiot."_

A sudden explosion rocked the area, and Touma whipped his head up in time to see a bright flash of orange and yellow light somewhere far ahead. The terrifying sound had almost made him jump out of his skin. As the brilliant warm hues died away, thick black smoke arose steadily into the windless night air.

His mind suddenly felt blank.

A fire…?

For a long moment, he simply stood, watching the slow trail of ebony wisps ascend to the sky.

_"There's another experiment tonight."_

_"Don't look for me again. You wouldn't be able to find me anyway…"_

_"Good bye, you idiot."_

And suddenly, all of the bewildering jumble, the mess and the chaos that had tormented him clicked together into a picture. It was still incomplete and vague, but it was now somewhat comprehensible.

Comprehensible enough to send a shocking chill through his body.

"No!"

With that cry of denial, Kamijou Touma broke into a fast run, his dread-filled eyes completely focused upon that single destination in the distance, marked only by a smoky trace in a world that was consumed by darkness.

* * *

"Guah!"

Mikoto's eyes widened as a wave of pain hit her, sending her flying backwards. The iron sand sword that the Electromaster had created during her rage-fuelled advance dissipated into the dust it had been born from. The airborne girl hit the ground violently, her right side sliding painfully against the jagged stones before coming to an abrupt rest.

Immediately, she struggled to stand up, huge eyes hazy with pain and terror. Panic seized her mind, spreading like wildfire. Her basic instincts kicked in, demanding her to flee, to strike back, to do anything to stop the horrible pain. Electricity was already sparking from her hair, ready to lash out again at her opponent, to hurt, to maim, to kill…

No.

In a moment of clarity, her true purpose of being there came flooding back. Lying so helplessly on the ground, beaten and bruised from the very first move… Unable to do anything against the unstoppable force that was Accelerator... This was how it was supposed to be. She couldn't afford to give into the pain-fuelled instincts that guided her own self-preservations.

After all, Misaka Mikoto wasn't here to win the battle.

She was here to win the war.

And to win the war, she had to first accept the punishment she sorely deserved.

Accelerator had been completely right. There was simply no way she could win a fight against him.

Even though they were both grouped under the same category of "Level 5", their power difference was not dissimilar to the distance between stars.  
_  
"Based on the simulations, we have concluded that by preparing 128 kinds of battlefields, and killing the Railgun 128 times, the subject would shift to Level 6."_

The Electromaster let her electricity fade away, her form crumpling flat onto the ground once more. Her fists clenched tightly around some loose stones and dirt, grabbing them blindly through unshed tears. It was easy to let the panic take control of her body, because the fear she felt was very much real.  
_  
"From a simulated combat with Accelerator, it has been predicted that Railgun would be killed after 185 moves."_

The scientists were willing to believe and follow whatever a machine told them, but Mikoto knew better. They were so logical they had no room for compassion nor feeling, leaving them as cold and indifferent as those machines they so heavily relied upon. This uncaring attitude made them dangerous and brutal, as Mikoto had the misfortune to discover. But it also made them weak, for their powers of logic failed to keep their minds open.

What had been the original cause of this entire nightmare was to become Misaka Mikoto's greatest weapon.

She would fool them all.

The girl crawled away slowly, focusing beyond the layer of panic on each lift of the trembling arm to gain distance. Her jaws were clenched tightly, partly to keep the pain at bay and partly to keep herself concentrating on the task at hand and not let any of her powers slip. She had a show to put on, an important part to play. And it was for 20,000 people.

10,031 whose deaths were already upon her shoulders, and 9,969 who would be saved if she carried out her act successfully.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Mikoto's palpitating heart skipped a beat. Slowly, she turned her head to find Accelerator approaching her with slow, tantalising steps. She didn't even need to act fearful. The trepidation came naturally; a single glance at those grey eyes filled with bloodlust was more than enough.

He cocked his head to the side questioningly as she stared back at him wordlessly through widened eyes.

"Don't tell me…" The albino suddenly stopped in his tracks. His bemused expression contorted into disgust. "Is that it?"

"Pl-please…" Mikoto whimpered pitifully. "Don't… P-please…" Her teeth clattered together of their own accord, her words stumbling out.

Accelerator frowned, glaring at Mikoto like she was nothing more than an annoying insect. She flinched visibly under his stare.

"Aren't you supposed to be the Original or whatever? The blueprint of these dolls? Aren't you meant to be much stronger than them?"  
_  
'That's right…" _A part of the Electromaster's mind still under strict self-control encouraged the albino on, _"Keep thinking along those lines… '_

He took another step forward towards her, his white eyebrows pushed together in puzzlement.

"I _know_ our power difference is significant, but you're still a fucking Level 5, aren't ya?"  
_  
'…And convince those scientists that their plan was completely wrong from the very start…'_

"So why are you lying there eating dirt already?"  
_  
'…185 moves… If I can make them think I don't even have that much value…'_

"You're even more pathetic than the manufactured dolls of yourself."  
_  
'…If I can do nothing but cough up blood… And attempt to run away from the very first move…'_

"Is our power difference seriously this big? You're proving to be a big disappointment, third-rate."  
_  
'…Then wouldn't they think, 'these machines can be wrong'?…'_

"What were those bloody scientists thinking making clones of a weakling like you?"  
_  
'…They would think that they had been wrong to use me as the basis for cloning… And then…'_

"Shit, I knew this fucking plan wasn't gonna work. Like hell this was gonna make me a Level 6."  
_  
'…They would have no choice but to abandon the project…'_

"They fucking made me waste my time!"  
_  
'And I'll be of some worth after all…"_

Anger twisted Accelerator's features into a snarl. Mikoto let whimpers push past her lips as cold sweat ran down her forehead. Mentally, she braced herself for the punishment that would inevitably arrive. Deep inside, a selfish part of her prayed the pain would be bearable, that the end would be swift. But she knew there would be no easy way out, not for her. Her fate had been sealed years ago, on that day she had given away her DNA. And ever since she had begun her journey down this one-way road of no return, Mikoto had accepted that a cruel and terrible death awaited her. But the girl believed with all her heart she deserved that kind of agony 20,000 times over… And would gladly welcome it, if it meant she could save all of her Sisters.

She would make her existence worthwhile by proving to the scientists how worthless she was.

That was her ultimate goal- to win, by losing miserably.

The Level 5 had seen images of herself broken and dying over and over, and now as her final moments approached, her mind's eye visualised her death one last time. A crimson pool spreading rapidly beneath her twisted body, deformed beyond recognition. Soulless, dull eyes staring at nothing, wide open from their first glimpses of hell. A gaping mouth frozen forever in a soundless scream, a ring of dried red liquid splattered around the orifice. Splinters of bone protruding out like thorns from the unnatural angles of her limbs… Torn muscle and flesh scattered around like dust…

"What the fuck. I'll kill those fucking bastards for tricking me into this," Accelerator spat. His angered eyes locked on the Electromaster's trembling form, and he began his slow advance on his prey once more. "But first, I'll put you out of your misery."

Mikoto squeezed her eyelids shut. Frost was spreading across her mind, its fingers as cold as ice. Everything felt numb as she retreated deep inside herself, separating her quietening thoughts from her physical self. A sense of calm washed over her, a gentle acceptance of what was to come. It was almost surreal, this sudden feeling of peace as she awaited her punishment. Although her eyes were still closed, those taut facial muscles relaxed, making her look as if she was simply asleep. Her pale skin was bathed by the moonlight, the pearly colour marred only by streaks of dirt and flecks of dust. The corners of her bluish lips curved gently upwards, a smile of victory blossoming as she waited patiently for her wish to be granted.

The wish that her Sisters would be saved.

A terrifying sound of an explosion rang in Mikoto's ears and she felt a shock wave slam into her body. She hardly felt the pain however, as she sailed through the air and landed a couple of metres away. The girl lay there sprawled and unmoving, calmly anticipating the next attack.

But seconds crawled by, and none came.

In the midst of her tranquillity, the Electromaster felt that something was amiss. Slowly, she opened her eyes and carefully lifted her head. Pain she had managed to evade previously suddenly rushed back as she reconnected with her physical being. Gritting her teeth, she pushed the nauseous feeling away, forcing her trembling arms to bear the weight of her upper body in order to see what was going on.

She blinked.

Everything was grey and black. Ash entered her eyes and nostrils, forcing her to squint and cover her mouth and nose with a hand. Something had obviously exploded nearby, leaving an acidic, burning smell hovering in the air. Mikoto coughed, her lungs constricting painfully as she struggled to breathe.

Her stinging eyes immediately tried to seek out Accelerator in the smoke, wondering what had just occurred. She could not conclude upon a plausible explanation as none of them made any sense. Accelerator making a mistake seemed impossible; somebody else stumbling upon this experiment and attacking the albino was unthinkable…

Unless...

Her watery eyes focused upon a figure that was revealing itself as a part of the thick smoke began to clear away. Half-sitting up, with dried blood painted down one side of her face, Misaka 10032 was staring right back at the Original. Something shined anew in those usually blank eyes, and in the darkness, they were like two glittering stars full of promises and hope.

Mikoto's eyes widened as a sudden understanding dawned.

It had been _her_.

Although 10032 did not speak, her eyes were desperately telling Mikoto to seize this chance and flee, to use the distraction the clone had created and save herself.

Mikoto's mouth opened and closed silently, unable to produce words to match her torrent of feelings. Her throat burned and her eyes stung, but this time, it had nothing to do with the smoke or the ash.

She knew, because her heart was burning as well.

"You shitty piece of trash," the familiar, rough voice echoed out from deep within the smoke.

Her pulse racing to a maximum, Mikoto whipped her head around to the sound as the skinny Level 5 emerged from the black and grey ashes. There was neither a scratch nor a speck of dust on him. He still looked fresh, as if he had just taken a stroll in a park rather than having stepped on a hidden landmine.

He didn't even look shaken, just completely annoyed.

"The fuck do you think you're playing at?!" He snarled at the clone, his expression contorting into a grotesque image of anger. "Do you want to die first then, is that it?"

10032 shifted her calm gaze to Accelerator. When she spoke, her voice was riddled with pain but still somehow even and steady.

"Misaka requests that experiment 10032 be resumed now. Misaka pleads with the Target to refocus his attentions on the task at hand-"

"This experiment is fucking OVER!"

Before the Sister could even blink, Accelerator turned into a blur. The heavy smoke cleared away suddenly, expanding outwards into the night and leaving everyone with a better view of each other under the moonlight.

Even so, 10032 hardly saw it coming.

A crimson fountain erupted as an arm was torn away, as easy as ripping paper. The severed limb was thrown carelessly, discarded onto the ground with an audible thud. Before the pain could even be realised, the opposite leg followed suit, ripped away violently from the middle of the thigh. The splintered end of a white femur was revealed, spurting the deep red liquid from its surrounding mess of mangled muscles.

As the pain finally hit, a terrible scream wrenched from the girl's throat, but it was quickly cut off when a hand brutally clasped around it, choking off her air supply. She gurgled, widened brown eyes staring into those cold grey orbs of a killer.

There was nothing within them.

Empty.

Remorseless.

CRACK!

Mikoto sat frozen, unable to comprehend what was happening before her very eyes. Her dilated pupils followed the trajectory of the Sister's mutilated body as it was tossed away like a ragged doll. The clone hit the ground, her head lolling freely to the side as the weirdly-angled neck failed to provide any kind of support. A pool of dark red spread rapidly beneath the still and silent body, flowing in rivulets between the loose stones of the Switchyard.

"No… "

Only a single word of denial could be whispered, her mind and body completely frozen with shock. Mikoto wanted to force everything out, but the hard proof was lying there right before her terrified eyes. Bile rose, burning her throat painfully.

"No…"

A swarm of thoughts overwhelmed her. That this simply couldn't be real, that another Sister had died because of her, that she had failed yet again to protect them, that she was so utterly useless in the face of this nightmare…

Then everything swirled into one pure emotion, a hatred directed at the one person, no, the monster who had participated in these sick experiments so willingly and with apparent joy. The shaking fire spread through every fibre of her being, her vision colouring a bright crimson as her traumatised eyes zoned on Accelerator. The intense hatred grew and grew until it exploded outwards in the form of hot-scalding rage, expressed by a wordless scream of heart-wrenching agony.

Nothing mattered anymore.

Nothing. Except for this uncontrollable thirst for vengeance.

The Railgun suddenly broke free of the invisible chains and sped towards Accelerator without a single drop of care nor thought. Her wild eyes looked deranged, the wordless cry of anguish still emanating from her parted lips as she charged in a frenzy. Electricity crackled around her ominously, its volatile blue tendrils streaking behind her like bizarre wings.

Accelerator turned his head, facing the sight of the monster known as the Railgun. She vaguely noticed the surprised look on his pale features transform into a flash of confused recognition, but she could not careless.

There was only one thing in her mind.

And nothing else could satisfy her.

Her arms stretched out towards her prey, lips curled into a snarl and exposing her canines. Her fingers flexed inwards, itching to close in around his neck and snap it like a twig, just as he had done…

A bright light suddenly flashed before her eyes, blinding her completely. Confused, the Railgun faltered in her wild advance, hands flying to claw at her incapacitated eyes. The whiteness behind her eyelids faded to black, leaving her disorientated and dizzy. A great wind tugged at her form, and she struggled against its power, limbs flailing sluggishly. Her stomach churned as a horrible feeling of nausea burned up her throat and left an acidic taste on her tongue. Blind eyes watered, unwanted tears leaking down her cheeks as her hair blew about wildly in tandem with the screaming wind in her ears…

Everything was spinning, spinning, spinning…

In the chaos, Mikoto thought she heard somebody cry out her name from a distance. She tried to reach out towards the sound, to hold onto this last thread of certainty, but its echoes faded away too fast, slipping out of her grasp.

Distant memories flashed by rapidly, each image representing all that had shaped her to become who she was now. Her family, her friends, her Sisters… Her heart constricted as they were brought to the forefront of her bewildered mind. It was a pang of joy and sorrow mingled with love, each bittersweet memory awakening her soul anew.

_'Am I… Dying? Is this what death is?'_

The howling world was dark. She was dimly aware of how weak she felt, her body sapped of strength and spiralling about in an unknown void.

_'If I die I'll never get to see them again…'_

Everything was still spinning, the darkness that was her vision seemingly growing darker and darker. There was no sense of time, no sense of being. She felt as if she was floating away, dispersing into small, insignificant particles and into the nothingness that consumed everything.

_'I... I don't want to die…'_

With that final thought, the darkness seeped into her mind and Misaka Mikoto knew no more.

* * *

His breath was coming out in quick pants, but Kamijou Touma kept up his pace, knowing his destination was near and that every second passing was precious time lost. The smoke ahead waved at him frantically, signalling him to hurry. He focused his eyes on the black wisps, trying not to think too hard about what he might eventually discover there, and praying to any God that would listen that he was not too late.

His feet swiftly carried him closer to the Switchyard in District 17, fuelled by his determined and racing heart. He found himself upon a small footbridge, and became alarmed by the fact that the source of the smoke seemed to be fast disappearing suddenly. Only a few trails remained, rising fast into the open night sky. Then they too faded, fading away into nothing.

Cursing under his breath, Touma rushed to the edge, realising that the source of the smoke had originated from down below. He leaned over the railing to peer beyond the cargo crates with narrowed eyes. It was too dark to see anything clearly. He thought he could observe some movement in the distance, but that was all he could discern. Knowing he was running out of time, the spikey-haired boy moved to get down closer, spotting the stairs nearby.

Before he could even take a step however, he heard it.

It was the most terrible scream, full of so much rage and anguish it hurt just to hear it. Icy fingers ran down his spine, and his chest throbbed painfully in response to the sound. Touma fought the desperate urge to block his ears and drown it out. Instead, he quickly focused his eyes back to that blanket of black, trying to locate where it had come from.

He received his answer as a bright light suddenly expanded from a single point up ahead, revealing everything nearby. His eyes widened as he saw a familiar figure in Tokiwadai uniform staggering, obviously blinded by the abrupt flash of light. In front of her was a skinny albino, and even from the distance, Touma could discern his surprised expression illuminated in the whiteness.

He watched transfixed as the light continued to grow, consuming the two figures. A powerful wind began to twirl around them and something akin to a tornado formed, tossing the bodies swirling into the air as the boy looked on helplessly. Touma gripped onto the cold railings, the wind threatening to blow him away like a leaf also. He stubbornly kept his eyelids parted against the raging wind and tried to work out what was happening. The whirlwind grew taller, sucking everything in its clutches up towards the night stars. The two people caught within it quickly turned into two black specks in the pool of spinning light, moving higher and higher into the unreachable distance.

A single name was upon his lips, a cry of desperation and apology, of a realisation too late.

"MISAKAAAAAA!"

Then the tornado and the light suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but darkness behind.

* * *

**Shadrala: As always, thank you for reading and supporting the story! Reviews/ feedbacks are greatly appreciated! **

**Previews of the next chapter will be released from time to time on my blog (see my profile for details) as I gradually work on it. **

**RIP Misaka 10032 :'( **

**Accel was very brutal in this chapter, which will provide me with a greater challenge in developing the main pairing I've promised in the long run. Hopefully I can twist this to my advantage...**

**Anyway, from here on, begins the ****_real_**** journey for our two main characters...!**


	5. Chapter 5

**~TRACES OF YOUR TEARS~**

**Shadrala:**** Hello again! Just before I get into Chapter 5, I wanted to answer some of the questions that had risen in the reviews of the last chapter. **

**Firstly, "canon" has only happened if I imply or refer to it directly during the course of the story. Otherwise, you can safely assume "canon" hasn't happened. This is an Alternate Universe fanfic after all~! As for what happens in the world we know (i.e. Touma's world) while Accel and Mikoto is away, I will be getting to that in future chapters. I've actually been thinking I might introduce another pairing... But I'm not going to give away anything atm (nothing is finalised at this point), and will be announcing the pair officially if/when the time comes. :P**

**Secondly, yes, there will be some Accelerator's perspective as well... *cough*nextchapter*cough* But how much depends on the flow of the story as I write it. So we'll see how it turns out.**

**And finally... As for what the backstory is, or whether magic/ Aiwass will be involved, or any other questions I have not answered above... You'll probably (and hopefully) find out as you follow the future chapters of this story! :P**

**Disclaimer: The canon characters, canon plots/ ideas, anything canon- do not belong to me, but the creators of the original Toaru universe.**

**Warning: Fanfic Rated R- Chapter contains crazy, violent, power hungry Level 5s...**

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

_"I'm sorry for making everyone worry."_

_They were sitting together at their usual place- Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant. Their favourite treats lay neatly arranged on a wooden table dressed by a delicate tablecloth, the beautiful desserts and drinks looking every bit inviting to the taste buds. _

_"It's all on me," Mikoto said brightly. She gestured towards the delectable contents on the table, urging her friends onwards. "Go for it!"_

_Nobody moved. _

_In the awkward silence, Mikoto's carefree smile gradually dissolved into an expression of uncertainty to match the other faces worriedly peering at her._

_"Misaka-san…" Saten Ruiko was the first to eventually speak up, "where were you last night?"_

_For the briefest moment, Mikoto's face blanked. It was a change of masks so swift and smooth it was almost impossible to detect. In a flicker it was gone, replaced by a secretive smile of a dreamy and romantic teenaged girl. _

_"I wanted to see the stars," she said simply._

_The others stared, bafflement oozing out from their unrelenting gazes. _

_"Huh?"_

_"The stars?"_

_The brown-haired girl nodded, "Yeah, don't you sometimes get sentimental like that?"_

_She had secretly hoped they would be satisfied with her answer, but had also realised at the same time that it wouldn't be enough. Judging from the bewildered looks on her friends' faces, the lack of an explanation really needed attending to. So she obliged, a hand cupping her chin as she leaned onto the table. The soft curving of her lips enhanced the dreamy look in her eyes as she gazed off into the distance wistfully, staring longingly at something none of her friends could see._

_"Sitting on a swing in the park alone, humming a melancholy tune, wanting to just stare at the starry sky forever…" She whispered softly. Mikoto swept a swift glance around the group. "You know that kind of mood?"_

_Her heart sank when she was met with nothing but blank faces and shaking heads._

_"Nope."_

_"I don't get it."_

_"R-really?" Mikoto breathed deeply through her nose, averting her eyes away. She wished that this subject matter could just be dropped. _

_"Well," she shrugged lightly, "it doesn't matter. I just felt like it."_

_She could feel them exchanging silent but meaningful glances as she focused her vision on the view of the streets outside through the window. She knew they were confused and anxious, perhaps now maybe even judgemental. Although she had been lying regarding her activities of last night, she hadn't been completely lying about her feelings. There had actually been times in the past when Mikoto had felt these sudden urges to go out alone and daydream the night away under the shimmering starlight. Now she recognised that she may have been completely alone in these feelings after all, that it was just a weird, personal fantasy that could not be shared, not with anyone._

_Even this simple realisation caused a familiar ache in her chest that she had known for much of her life._

_'Why am I so weak…?'_

_"By the way," Uiharu Kazari suddenly spoke up, "did you find out what that code you asked me about yesterday was for?"_

_Mikoto's heart lurched and her mouth suddenly became dry. This was one question she had not been expecting. In fact, she had completely forgotten about it when she had played out this scenario in her head earlier. Now she wished she hadn't involved Kzari, even though her help had been extremely invaluable._

_ It was too late for such regrets though. And she was having way too many of those lately._

_"What code?" Saten Ruiko questioned Kazari directly. From the surprised looks on everyone's faces, it was evident the flower wreathed girl hadn't told anyone about Mikoto's late night phone call. _

_"Well…"_

_"O-oh, that?!" Mikoto quickly interrupted, wanting to gain control of the situation. She didn't want Kazari informing them of the code or alluding to any part of it. She felt guilty enough having gotten one friend involved. She didn't want any of the others to know anything if she could help it._

_"That was… Uh… That was…"_

_Her hands tightly gripped the cup of coffee on the table before her. She hardly noticed its scalding surface painfully burning into her reddening skin. She could feel everyone's eyes fixed upon her, trying to decipher her every movement and expression. All of the muscles in her body felt tense and tight, and she stared into her gently steaming drink refusing to meet their eyes. She suddenly felt as if she was on trial, desperately seeking excuses, a way to redeem herself._

_The girl wished she did not have to lie to her friends anymore, but knew she had no other choice. If she told them the truth, there was every possibility it could expose them to great danger. _

_'No… I can't let that happen… They might face the same… The same…'_

_A ripped-out leg on the ground, swimming in a pool of red…_

_Eyes of cold steel, their emptiness reflected by the silver moonlight…_

_A pale figure of death, whispering taunting words in her ear…_

_"Onee-sama?"_

_Mikoto was suddenly aware of how tense she was, hunched over with jaws clenched together. She focused on breathing deeply, working to unhook each finger squeezing the teacup in a deathly grip. Beside her, she felt Shirai Kuroko shift in her seat, trying to meet her eyes._

_"Misaka-san, are you okay?"_

_She could hear in Ruiko's tone of voice that no positive answer Mikoto gave would be able to convince her now. It was pointless to answer anyway. It didn't matter whether she was okay or not. Not when the Sisters were being killed mercilessly because of her foolishness years ago. She had been so naïve back then, so willing to trust, that she had turned a blind ear on the rumours that had shadowed her, and a blind eye on the small hints that had followed afterward. If only she had listened… If only she had paid better attention..! But it was no use wishing when time was long gone and passed. What she could do from this point onwards was what she had to focus on. Because now…_

_"I can see them…"_

_They were like the stars. _

_They had always been there, shining and silent. She just hadn't had the ability to see them, as they had been obscured by her ignorance, and her stubborn refusal to acknowledge their existence. _

_They were like the stars. _

_From a distance, they all appeared the same. But Mikoto realised now that they would all have their individual lives, their personal stories and experiences to tell. _

_Since last night…_

_"I… I can see them all now… That's why…"_

_Still, Mikoto could not completely accept them as humans. She did not care much for the Sisters' nonchalant attitudes towards their own deaths. She could not understand them, but she knew she had to defend them whatever the cost. It was her fault they had been created into their miserable and measured lives in the first place. And thus, it was only natural that their deaths stained her hands as well._

_"Onee-sama…?"_

_She was in a mess. A mess she had placed herself in. The only person who she could rely on now was herself, and no one else. She was fully prepared to embrace a death similar to those of the Sisters if that was to be her punishment. However, she wasn't about to let her friends be immersed in such a world of darkness and pain. A world in which she now belonged to._

_"The Arcade!"_

_"?!"_

_Confused by Ruiko's sudden outburst, Mikoto finally looked up, weary eyes meeting her friend's smiling ones._

_"Let's go to the Arcade Centre, Misaka-san!" the long-haired girl elaborated with a nod. "I want another round with you on that punching machine!"_

_And suddenly, as if a silent spell had just been broken, the others joined in._

_"That sounds great! Let's go to the Arcade!"_

_"Can we take another picture in the photo booth?"_

_"Oh, that's a great idea!"_

_"Let's do it!"_

_Mikoto's head swung this way and that, following the chorus of enthusiastic voices. She felt numb and bewildered, not understanding their sudden change of mood and the abrupt shift in topic. _

_"Let's forget about it that way," Ruiko said quietly, looking directly at Mikoto._

_The Tokiwadai girl's eyes slowly widened as an understanding of what her friends were doing dawned upon her._

_"I…"_

_"Just don't forget this: we're here for you, okay?" Ruiko smiled, a gentle and encouraging expression of openness. "If you can't handle it yourself, just tell us whenever. That's what friends are for."_

_A swell of emotions erupted in Mikoto's chest and her throat suddenly felt tight. A brilliant warmth grew from deep within, and she opened her mouth to form words of gratitude and apology. But she did not know where to begin nor how to express herself without sounding like a fool. So, with eyes shyly cast downwards above two rosy cheeks coloured by embarrassment, her lips produced a single word of acceptance instead._

_"Yeah."_

_From their smiling eyes, Mikoto knew they understood._

* * *

The world was black.

The darkness surrounding her was peaceful. It demanded nothing from her, coexisting in harmony with a silence that enveloped her with a sincere sense of tranquillity. Floating calmly in this endless void, she felt an unexplainable contentment to remain there forever. She could not remember who she was or what she had been doing, but none of that seemed to hold any kind of meaning or significance. There was no sense of responsibility, no sense of time, no desire nor fear nor any kind of feeling… But she was perfectly fine with that.

Nothingness.

Forever drifting away in time.

What did it matter anyway?

A spark of light suddenly grew in the darkness, the pale orb pulsing before her blankly staring eyes. It gradually neared her, hovering like a ghostly apparition. She stared at it senselessly, and only a vague thought of curiosity slid through her quiet mind. When the orb of light approached ever closer however, she felt a gentle warmth radiating from its brightening brilliance. She shivered violently, suddenly realising how cold she was. Wanting to feel more of this beautiful warmth, she reached out her arms, desiring to grab the light so she could keep it with her always.

As her hands closed around the warmth greedily, colourful images began to flash before her widening eyes. They were bright and bewildering, full of people and places, of thoughts and feelings and dreams. She could not understand them. She wanted to return back to that serene tranquillity of nothingness, for the vibrant colours and the confusion that accompanied them were too much for her to bear. Her eyes filled with tears and her heart clenched painfully, but she could not understand _why_. If not knowing hurt this much, how much more painful would it be if she knew? She didn't want to find out…

No matter how hard she tried though, she simply could not tear her gaze away. An unknown force fixed her body in place, refusing to relieve her from the torture. The colours continued to torment her dilated pupils, and her heart continued to shudder sporadically in response. Her helpless situation suddenly became apparent and she wondered for the first time, what she had been doing there in the first place.

As soon as she questioned, the answers came. One after the other, information she hadn't cared to know before suddenly flooded into her mind, unlocking the door to her memories. Everything came rushing back. All she was, all she knew, all she had. What made her Misaka Mikoto. The light continued to grow and grow, the colours burning brighter and brighter in her eyes. They entered and rejuvenated her, integrating to become the very essence of her being. Wet pearls glided down her cheeks, but she hardly noticed as her mouth opened into a soundless expression of all that she could feel.

Alive.

She was alive.

Joy. Sorrow. Love. Hate. Anger. Desire. Every pore on her body tingled with the emotions of life. It was so wonderful, but very much terrifying at the same time. It consumed her entire being, yet proceeded to make her whole. The indescribable feeling seemed to continue for all of eternity- she, forever suspended in the middle of this wilderness full of emotions and memories…

Then suddenly, the strings that had been holding her abruptly vanished and she was falling, falling, falling…

Pain exploded everywhere as Mikoto suddenly impacted upon a hard surface. The previous elation she had felt was quickly replaced by an unforgiving weariness that pulsed in her very bones. As the pain slowly dulled into a throbbing sensation, she became aware of how she was lying face down upon what felt like rough concrete.

It wasn't the only uncomfortable feeling.

Without even opening her eyes, Mikoto knew something was terribly wrong. Something very much important was missing, a seemingly simple yet vital part of her that she could not yet quite identify. It kept nagging at her, the unpleasant feeling churning inside and growing unmistakably.

Her lips parted and an involuntary groan exhaled out. Mustering all of her strength, the girl pushed herself to a sitting position, chestnut-coloured eyes fluttering open to observe the world around her.

_'Where am I…?'_

She appeared to be at an entrance of a small side alley, huge concrete walls dwarfing her on either side. Ahead, the narrow space opened out into an empty street, various shops neatly lined up with trees and street lamps. Something seemed off about her vision though, and her foggy mind sluggishly tried to identify what it was. Her eyes turned heavenwards to gaze wonderingly at the blue, cloudless sky.

_'How strange… Wasn't it night time…?'_

With a sigh, Mikoto stood up, leaning onto the closest wall for support. Her knees shook from exhaustion, and her heavy head felt groggy. But she managed to keep standing, eyes turning back to the view of the main street.

For a long moment, she remained completely still, taking in the sight before her with a blankness that was associated with incomprehension. Then gradually, she began to notice everything that was wrong and everything that didn't make sense. One particular fact stood out- a fact so disturbing that everything else paled to insignificance.

She was clearly in a city, but there were _no electromagnetic waves_.

During her development as a high-levelled Electromaster, Mikoto had acquired the skill to see electromagnetic field lines. When she had first attained the ability, they had seemed more an obstruction to her normal vision, but she quickly grew accustomed to it and began to appreciate their undeniable usefulness. She could recognise each line like the back of her hand, and they soon became a friendly map of the world around her. They provided easier ways for her to understand and navigate her surroundings, allowing her advantages others could only dream of. Countless times had seen them get her out of sticky situations, but she had always taken this special sense of hers for granted.

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined it would one day just disappear.

The Electromaster blinked furiously, wondering if her eyes were at fault. But it wasn't just her vision that bothered her. The gentle hum and buzz of roaming electrons in the air, and the comforting feeling of her favourite element constantly brushing at her senses, were also missing. They had always existed on the edge of her consciousness for as long as she could remember, and for the Electromaster who had lived in Academy City since early childhood, this was the natural state of the world.

A whir of panic struck, sending her mind reeling. It was as if someone had suddenly gauged out a large portion of her eyes, leaving her feeling blind and vulnerable. Her Electroperception had been a vital part of her, both as an Esper and as a person. This was something she only realised now, only when it was too late and lost.

_'Why…? I don't understand… But…'_

Mikoto stared down at an open hand, large eyes full of fear. A single, terrifying possibility haunted her. She was scared of what it would mean should the theory be proved correct. Raw dread twisted in the pits of her stomach like a writhing serpent.

_'No… I can't start thinking like this…!'_

Her sweaty palms clenched into tight fists and her mouth set into a determined line. Jaws crunched together. Taking in a large lungful of air, she loosened her shoulders and made herself grow taller, gathering in positive thoughts. Then, with eyes full of self-empowerment, the Esper produced a set of quick and familiar calculations, anticipating the blue sparks that were sure to follow.

Nothing.

Mikoto blinked, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Or rather, what had just _not _happened. She reapplied the calculations, wanting to believe that she must have made some kind of mistake.

Again, nothing.

The dread exploded into a wild panic. Again and again and again she tried, each time producing nothing. No crackling of sparks, no tingling electricity in her veins, no familiar sense of power…

Absolutely nothing.

She couldn't think. Her teeth were clenched together tightly, nails painfully digging into her palms. All she knew was that she couldn't give up, that she had to keep trying and trying no matter what. She was the number 3 Level 5, one of the most powerful humans in Academy City and possibly the world. She was the strongest Electromaster, the famous celebrity Railgun- it was unthinkable that she couldn't even produce a tiny spark. What was she without it?

Nothing, came the simple but truthful answer.

She was nothing without her ability, nothing without her powers.

What was she, if she couldn't be the Level 5 "Railgun"?

The wild panic grew and grew, consuming her mind. She grabbed a fistful of hair, tearing at the chestnut strands as her body slumped back onto the wall. Something was wrong with her. Was it a sickness? Was this condition temporary, or would she have to live with it from now on? Her entire body trembled in terror at the thought. To live the rest of her life without her powers…?!

"DAAAMMIIIT!"

With an enraged scream, Mikoto began to punch and kick at the concrete block beside her, putting all of her feelings of fury and helplessness into the strikes. Her hands began to bruise and bleed, and the surface of her school shoes began to abrade, but the girl took no heed. She needed something to vent out her anger on, and that was all she could care about.

Eventually though, she stopped. Breathing heavily, she leaned against the wall she had assaulted for the past minute, closing her eyes tiredly. Her bleeding hands hung uselessly by her sides, flecks of crimson dripping onto the ground. She took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

_'Get yourself together!'_ Mikoto chastised herself. _'It's not something to lose it over! Think logically! Something must have triggered this. It can't possibly be permanent- I won't accept that so easily!'_

Not bothering to open her eyes, the girl thought back to the events that had lead to this mess. It had all happened so fast, but she vaguely remembered the flash of light and the terrifying wind. Were they somehow connected? It had been night-time then. Had she actually been unconscious for hours? She didn't even know where she was… She thought she was still in Academy City, but Mikoto couldn't be certain…

Something suddenly ran into her, slamming her head hard against the stone wall. Mikoto's eyes flew open, her vision becoming littered with bright stars of shock and pain. She felt something snake around her neck, locking it into a death-grip. Her airways squeezed together and Mikoto's mouth opened in a frantic effort to regain oxygen. Disoriented, the girl clawed at the offending hands, widened eyes desperately searching for her assailant.

"You bitch! What the fuck did you do?!"

Confused brown eyes met enraged grey ones. Her pupils dilated as a familiar, pale face swam into her teary vision, its features horribly contorted with anger. His name passed through her mind, sending a shiver of terror down her spine.

_Accelerator._

"What the fuck did you do?! Answer me, you fucking maggot!"

He was shouting at her, shaking her like a rag doll by the neck. The back of her head slammed against the concrete repeatedly, making her yell out in pain. She had no idea what was going on, what Accelerator was even referring to or accusing her of. All she knew was that _something_ significant had happened, but she had no clue what or why or how, or what it all meant. The frustration in her mind exploded out, her voice full of venom despite the lack of air.

"I didn't do _anything_!"

The tips of Accelerator's thumbs dug into her windpipe, crushing it mercilessly. Mikoto's eyes widened, her teeth gritted against the burning sensation.

"Shut up! Shut up!" She heard his rough voice scream and echo in her ears. "You're fucking lying! I know you are! You did something! That light and the wind…! I know you fucking did something!"

As he shouted out his accusations, Mikoto writhed, trying to eel out of his brutal clasp on her neck as her fingers worked to pry his hands off. The desperation and her will to escape grew, and she hardly heard his words anymore in the din of her ringing head. All she knew was that she had to get free… Somehow… In any way…!

In a moment completely fuelled by desperation alone, Mikoto kicked out with a sudden burst of strength she hadn't known she possessed. She felt the sole of her shoe dig into his soft stomach and her eyes rounded with surprise. The grip around her neck loosened as the albino flew away backwards, slamming into the opposite wall with a cry of pain.

She stared, unable to believe her eyes.

Accelerator slid down the concrete, coming to a sitting position with a groan. His eyes were squeezed closed, the white eyebrows above them knitted together by heavy threads of agony. He gasped for air and his skinny frame shuddered, depicting a strange picture of frailty that Mikoto found difficult to believe.

For a long moment, the girl simply stared, not understanding what had just happened. Was he acting, pretending to be in pain? Did he let down his guard by accident? He was Accelerator. The strongest. The unbeatable Level 5. How could someone that powerful be cringing on the ground, obviously in pain from just a single kick? It just didn't make any sense…

The staggering realisation hit her then, heavy with implications. Her widened eyes glanced over at the agonised figure before her- the jaws tightly clenched together, the skinny fingers curling to clutch at the area of pain, the scrunched eyelids hiding those cold grey eyes…

It was obvious now, although he wouldn't admit it. Just like her, for whatever reason neither of them could fathom, Accelerator could no longer use his powers. And as the strongest Level 5 who had always relied upon his powers for everything, he was a nobody without his powers.

A grim satisfaction suddenly swept over Mikoto. She looked down her nose at his crouched form with eyes hardened like ice.

Accelerator.

He was the cold-hearted, sadistic murderer who had killed more than 10,000 of her Sisters without a thought. He was a monster without a conscience and he deserved this pain, this agony, this feeling of weakness… But…

Was this punishment enough?

No, came the immediate answer. A single kick to the gut didn't do any justice. A simple loss of power just didn't cut it. Compared to what the Sisters went through…

Baring her teeth as a hot fury rippled through her, Mikoto approached the albino slowly, step by step. Cold brown eyes were upon him, not a drop of pity to be found. She saw his eyelids part open, revealing pinprick pupils staring up at her in terror. She saw him lean away, cowering into the wall behind him, obviously wanting to disappear from her presence. She saw all these things and they made her heart soar. A wild thrill that was a mixture of anger and excitement coursed through her veins, leaving her head pulsing in its wake.

She was powerful. He was weak.

She was going to punish him.

A twisted smirk erupted, oddly enhancing the sudden maniacal rage in her eyes. With a step, she crossed the remaining distance between them. Accelerator looked up again as her shadow fell ominously on his trembling form. A wheeze of panic left his lips and he pushed himself off the ground in an attempt to run away from the impeding danger.

He didn't even manage one step.

A brutal kick landed on his stomach once more, ripping a scream of pain from his throat. Before his body could even hit the ground, another kick hit him, sending him sprawling against the wall. Again and again she attacked, as if he was just a ball for her to play with. And with each display of violence, her ferociousness increased tenfold, the words of hatred pouring out from her mouth.

"Are you in pain?! Are you now?!" she screamed at him, "You fucking bastard, I'll show you pain! I'll show you what my Sisters went through because of you!"

He fell to the ground as the final kick pounded his ribcage. He gasped for air, eyes roaming dazedly in panic, confusedly wondering if it was over. But the relief was only short-lived.

The Railgun pounced onto him like a cat, slamming him against the wall. A claw-like hand clamped around his throat, squeezing his trachea. His eyes flew open as the back of his head crashed into concrete, and he was forced to look into the Railgun's murderous eyes glaring down at him. Panic seized and he flailed wildly in her grasp. It was futile. She was much stronger than she looked, her grip relentless and unforgiving.

Mikoto crouched over his sitting form, leaning in towards him. She breathed in deeply, her tongue darting out to lick her lips. She could smell and taste his fear in the air and it was simply delicious. The wild excitement was still running deep in her veins, stimulating her senses. The feeling of power was intoxicating and wonderful; she didn't need any kind of Esper ability after all. She could make the strongest cower away in terror, and held his life in her very hands. Right now, she was the strongest in the universe, a force to be reckoned with- unstoppable and undeniable.

"Look who's the weakling now," she sneered mockingly. "You look pathetic!"

An arm replaced the hand holding his throat as she leaned in further, squeezing his neck against the wall brutally. He choked and gasped, trying to push her off, but he found his physical strength lacking compared to hers. A dry smile thinned her lips and her glinting eyes narrowed dangerously at his fruitless attempts to escape.

"What's wrong?" she snarled at him. "Are you sorry now? Are you feeling worthless?"

He answered with a gurgle, his pale face gradually turning a distinct shade of sickly blue.

A surge of rage flowed through Mikoto again and her vision clouded in a crimson haze.

"Answer me, you sick bastard! You should be feeling worthless! You should be feeling sorry! But you know what?! It's too late! It's bloody too late to be sorry now!"

An abrupt bubble of laughter burst from her mouth, the sound bouncing eerily between the two walls of the alleyway. It was the sound of madness, of a hysteria impossible to return from.

"That's right…" her head lowered as the last echoes faded away into silence. A dark shadow fell over her eyes, hiding her expression, "It's too late to be sorry now…" Her jaws clenched together with an audible crunch and she continued to speak through gritted teeth. "It's too late… That's why… That's why…!"

Crazed eyes filled to the brim with killing intent were revealed as her head snapped back up. Ruthless fingers swiftly replaced the arm that had been holding him in place, fingernails digging into his throat without mercy. His blue face was now slowly turning purple, but Mikoto observed this colour change with cold and empty eyes. A ghost of a smile danced on her lips, revelling in the vision of sweet retribution unfolding before her. The sounds of his dying breath were like beautiful music to her ears, those grey eyes staring back her slowly fading into darkness…

_"I never thought you… A murderer."_

Her eyes widened as a familiar voice suddenly rang in her mind. Her body froze, breaths coming out in quick gasps. Her pupils dilated, eyes unseeing of anything as memories of a certain spikey-haired guy swirled in her thoughts.

_A muderer… A murderer…?_

He had called her a murderer…

Her confused mind spun. Why had he called her that? She wasn't a murderer…

Mikoto blinked. Her bewildered eyes slowly trailed back to the figure in front of her. Accelerator's face was completely purple, his eyes and mouth wide open into a picture of agony and horror. She was suddenly aware of how his strained neck muscles were pushing against her bare fingers, of how close she was leaning into him… And a cold shiver ran down her spine. She looked into those faded grey pools, and saw a pair of widened eyes reflecting back at her.

The eyes of a murderer.

Her own eyes.

Mikoto stumbled away backwards until she hit the opposite wall. Her back sank onto the cold concrete, desiring to put as much distance from the slumped figure of Accelerator as she could. She clutched her head, a burning pain throbbing in her brain. Her fingers twisted and tugged at the tangled locks of brown hair.

_'What am I doing…? What the hell… Am I doing?!'_

She couldn't even answer herself.

Mikoto pushed herself flat against the wall as Accelerator slowly stood up. Her large eyes were fixed on his rising figure, her heart racing in fear of what he would do now. He raised his head with a groan, leaning onto the wall for support. A sideways glance brought the Railgun in his field of vision and his posture immediately stiffened.

Grey eyes met brown, mirroring each other's terror.

An eternity passed and Accelerator tore his gaze away with a shudder. With a desperate cry born of panic and pain, the skinny albino broke into a run, fleeing into the deeper parts of the alley. Mikoto stared after him with rounded eyes, left behind in the echoes of his wordless cry.

As his back vanished into the darkness, Mikoto slumped against the wall tiredly. Her mind was a mess of emotions, a jumble of chaotic thoughts that could not be put to order. Questions circled around and around in her head, unable to be answered. She couldn't believe she had just tried to kill him. And yet, didn't Accelerator deserve it? He had killed and tortured her Sisters, didn't that justify her actions?

_No_, she told herself firmly. _Not like this… Never like this… _

_'I don't… I don't want to be like that… Like him…'_

A burning feeling rose up to her chest and Mikoto fell onto her hands and knees, retching violently. Again and again she heaved, nothing but bitter bile forcing its way up from her empty stomach. For a long while, she remained crouched on the ground, shuddering and cringing as sobs racked her body. She leaned against the wall and curled into a tight ball; arms bringing her legs up to her chest protectively, to hold herself together against the searing pain that threatened to tear her apart. Tears fell steadily, dripping onto her cheeks and onto her uniform.

Tears continued to fall, but Misaka Mikoto had no idea what she was crying about, or who she was even crying for.

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**Shadrala:**** Hope you enjoyed Chapter 5~ Thanks so much for reading!**

**All reviews/ feedback are welcome, and are greatly appreciated ^^**

**Remember you can check back on my blog (see my profile for link) in the near future for previews on the next chapter :)**


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